22/05/2012 BBC News at Ten

The UK's flagging economy needs help to kick start growth, possibly

a further cut to interest rates. Under scrutiny. The International

Monetary Fund says the Government's made substantial progress towards

balancing its books but more could be done. Growth is too slow and

youth unemployment too high. Policies to bolster demand before

low-growth becomes entrenched are needed. The warning comes as lower

food and energy prices lead to the biggest fall in inflation for more

than two years. We'll be assessing what this means for the Government.

Also tonight: A court has been told the parents of Shafilea Ahmed used

a plastic bag to suffocate her in 2003. Allegations of corruption at

the heart of Scotland Yard. MPs hear claims that police officers

working for an anti-corruption unit received payments from private

detectives. Not enough pain killers for tens of thousands of Britain's

sickest. The health watchdog says more should be given. And boosting

Britain's electricity. Plans for a new generation of nuclear power

plants and giant wind farms. Tonight: The search for hundreds of

suspected cancer patients who may have missed urgent treatment

Good evening. A further cut to interest rates and yet more money

pumped into the economy by the Bank of England. Those are just some of

the measures that should be considered to help get Britain

moving. That's the view of the International Monetary Fund which

gave its verdict on the UK economy today. The IMF gave its support to

the government's policies to cut the budget deficit but said more

needed to be done to tackle high unemployment and a lack of growth.

It came as inflation fell to 3%, its lowest level for two years.

Stephanie Flanders has this assessment. The UK economy has been

getting its annual inspection from the International Monetary Fund and

the verdict is in. Things are not going well at all. The economic

recovery in the UK has not taken hold. The stresses in the euro area

affect the UK through many channels. Kriss Akabusi is too slow and

unemployment, including youth unemployment, too high. -- growth.

Policies to bolster demand are needed. He is still smiling. The

fund things the Government is on the right track even if the economy

is not. The IMF could not be clearer today. Britain needs to

deal with its debts. The fiscal policy is appropriate and an

essential part to our road to The IMF wants the Bank of England

to cut interest rates even further. The latest news on prices could

make it easier for the bank to follow that advice, according to

the consumer prices index was up inflation fell from 3.5% to 3%. The

broader Retail Prices Index fell by less to 3.5%. Inflation might be

falling but these parents in Hertfordshire are no more upbeat

about the economy than the IMF. Everything has gone up. Even school

clubs like this one. You cut down on everything. If you see the

bargains in the supermarkets, things that a cheaper, you buy them.

The economy is flat. The Government should be doing more to help. If

things get worse, it things it should take the advice of Labour

with a temporary cut in VAT. It is important for the Chancellor.

Christine Lagarde does not think things are bad enough for that just

yet. Mr Osborne has not stuck rigidly to his bold targets. Right

now that is enough to reassure the IMF and not Ed Balls. The IMF said

last September, if the British economy underperformers, the

Government should act on jobs. There should be a tax cut do get

the economy moving. Since then her hour economy has gone back into

recession. Dark clouds in the eurozone do not give the Chancellor

much to feel good about. It seems he still has a friend in the IMF,

at least one now. Our political editor is in Downing Street for us.

Some praise from the Government on one hand but more needs to be done.

There is something for everyone in the IMF report. The Chancellor has

every right to feel most pleased. The image of Mrs Lagarde is one at

that he will want to evoke. He will want to protect insane there is no

choice in austerity and growth. -- insane. He will insist that more

spending is not the solution to the problems in Britain and Europe. The

IMF were cleared the British economy is not growing enough and

the Government should do more and the Bank of England should do more.

There was a puzzle at the end of all of theirs. In recent Mansi

International Monetary Fund has said, if the British economy does

not get moving and moving soon, it should consider a plan be. Why did

they not argue for that today? -- Plan B Macro. The reason appears to

be this. Last autumn, the Government did take an important

decision. Even though the economy was growing slower, it did not

announce further cuts - bigger spending cuts - in order to stick

to its deficit plans. It said, we will take a couple more years. The

Government will not change its approach. If the economy really

does not grow, that debate will start in earnest. The sister of

Tapani Kalmaru, who was allegedly murdered by her parents in 2003,

has been giving evidence against them at Chester Crown Court. --

Shafilea Ahmed. Alesha Ahmed said her parents abused Shafilea Ahmed

every day. Her parents used a plastic bag to suffocate the 17th

year-old, the court was told. Iftikhar Ahmed arrived at court

this morning with his wife walking behind him, in the knowledge that

one of their daughters alleges they murdered her sister. Tapani Kalmaru

was said to have been physically abused by her parents nearly every

day. -- Shafilea Ahmed. The jury heard it resulted in them

suffocating her, forcing a plastic bag into her mouth and putting

their hands over her face. There had been daily conflict at the

family home in Warrington. Her sister told the court that, on one

occasion, their parents had threatened her with a knife. They

said -- she said they were hitting have. It was out of control. She

was just taking it. The jury was also told that Shafilea Ahmed had

been taken on a trip to Pakistan to stay with family. Was there, have

father had threatened her saying, there is a gun back there, and if

something were to happen to you, no one would find out. The body was

discovered in February, 2004, by a river in Celtic in Cumbria. The

prosecution say her parents killed her because they felt she was

bringing shame on the family. The parents deny murder. The court has

heard that Alesha Ahmed only came forward to give her allegation

after being involved in a robbery at the family home. The jury is

being asked to consider whether she is lying to somehow help herself

when she is sentenced for the rub real issue is telling the truth,

having lived with the family's secret Panathenaic Stadium seven

years. Scotland Yard to -- for at seven years. Scotland judge is

investigating charges of allegations. -- Scotland Yard. The

home affairs select committee has heard allegations a private

investigation firm paid money for information. The former detective

has denied any wrongdoing. Mark Easton has this exclusive report in

August of last year a bundle of documents was received by the IPCC.

An identical bundle turned up at the office of the then Commissioner

of the Metropolitan Police. Although anonymous, paperwork

included detailed invoices and expense ledgers which the picture

show a firm of private investigators had handed over

thousands of pounds in cash to Metropolitan Police officers in

return for confidential information. The officers were members of the

proceeds of Corruption Unit, based at Scotland club. The private

investigators are working for the man they were pursuing -- pursuing.

James Ibori was the former state governor of the oil-rich delta

region in Nigeria, a corrupt official who stole hundreds of

millions of pounds from his homeland. He used cash to buy

luxury cars and property, including homes in the UK. A specially funded

unit was set up but Scotland Yard to capture him. Last month he was

sentenced to 30 years for money laundering. Protected by the legal

privileges of the Houses of Parliament Ramagge the lawyer for

another man jailed as part of the clot said they had themselves been

corrupted. -- the plot. A private investigations paid the police.

Half-a-dozen payments totalling about �20,000 had a pit for over

eight or nine months. There is a detailed list of expenses occurred

by risk management, including one in April, 2008, just before the

London solicitor of James Ibori was Immediate -- below the Leger reads:

Risk management denies they had ever paid any police officer.

information we received to date we will pursue to give those who are

not present the opportunity of responding to the very serious

allegations that have been made by this firm of solicitors. The man

who led the inquiry, former Detective Inspector Gary Walters,

was described as a key culprit to the affair. He denies any

wrongdoing. The serving officers also named today where John

MacDonald and Peter Clark. They have declined to comment on the

allegations. DI Walters appears to have been working with risk

management. You see him giving conference speeches. The police

officer involved is working for the private investigator? That appears

to be the case. Scotland Yard has said that since last October they

have been investigating an However, been there seven month

since it began, I have learned the inquiry has not spoken to risk

management, not to the legal firm whose name appears on the invoices.

No police officer has been asked about the allegations. It is not

possible to be certain whether the documents are genuine or elaborate

fakes or whether any money was received by a police officer - of

those who might gain most from the claims are convicted fraudsters.

The allegations put extra pressure A series of new measures has been

outlined to tackle antisocial behaviour in communities in England

and Wales. ASBOs would be replaced with a system of orders giving

communities a greater say. Ministers also want to speed up the

eviction of the most disruptive tenants. Labour says the overall

plans will make matters worse. Tens of thousands of patients with

advanced cancer and other chronic illnesses are suffering because

they aren't being given adequate pain relief. That's according to

the health watchdog NICE. It has issued new guidance in the hope of

increasing the use of morphine and other strong painkillers known as

opioids. Fergus Walsh reports. A these medicines are so potent, they

must be kept under lock and key. Morphine and diamorphine, or

heroine, are produced from opium poppies, used to control pain for

thousands of years, but they are being overlooked by 21st century

medicine. Daniel Hopkins has terminal lung cancer and until he

came to St Gemma's Hospice in Leeds was in excruciating pain.

Tremendous pain. On the scale of 1- 10, it shot off the top of the

scale. Morphine has changed that. After, it just can't see down. I

have no pain at all now. At 10 pence a tablet for morphine, cost

is not an issue, so why are so many doctors not using opioids to

control patients' pain? Doctors share the fears of their patients,

that patients may become intolerant or addicted to painkillers. Often

these are misplaced fears. Doctors fail to mention side-effects and

how to deal with them. There is also the legacy of Dr Harold

Shipman, who used diamorphine to murder his victims. It has made

many doctors are wary of prescribing strong opioids.

Research suggests that one in two patients with advanced cancer do

not have adequate pain control and the problem applies to other long-

term conditions, such as heart failure and neurological disorders.

Natalie's husband, Mark, was diagnosed with motor neurone

disease shortly before their wedding. Within months he was

totally paralysed and in severe pain. She said the final days

before his death or agonising. was awful to watch. He was asking

me to help him and I could not help him. He would close his eyes and

say, help me, and there was nothing I could do. I was having to beg the

nurses to help him. It was the middle of the night and there were

no consultants around. Many opioids are now produced synthetically,

like this slow release patch. The message to doctors is simple. These

medicines work and used responsibly, they can make a dramatic difference

to the well-being of patients. Coming up on tonight's programme:

With London 2012 just weeks away, an Olympic official at the centre

If you thought your energy bills were already high, they could go up

even more under proposals contained in a new energy bill. Power

companies would be given guaranteed returns as an incentive to invest

in a new generation of nuclear power stations and in renewable

energy. -- giant wind farms. It is part of a major overhaul of the

power industry, aimed at meeting electricity needs without pushing

up greenhouse gas emissions. David Shukman has the details.

Britain at night. Bright, but for how much longer? Our power stations

are getting older so massive spending is needed. But what to

invest in? One option is more conventional power stations,

burning gas. They are the cheapest but also the most polluting and

they rely on imports. Newt nuclear power stations could generate low

carbon electricity but building and is expensive. Wind farms out at sea

could generate carbon three power but they are very pricey. Whatever

happens, the government says we need major new investment.

should not discount any low carbon technology. I think keeping the

lights on and making sure we meet our climate change obligations are

so important that we need to face up to all the challenges. Here is

the dilemma. The government needs new power supplies but its own

climate targets means that these should be low carbon, so the

investment could cost over �110 billion in the next decade, and

because the government does not want nuclear power to receive any

public subsidy, consumers will carry the cost. An extra �105 a

year on their bills by 2030 according to one government

estimate. Ministers say that with the risk of rising gas prices, that

investment is worth it. The whole strategy depends upon the energy

companies and whether they invest. They are still waiting for key

details. If is an important step, it is a wide ranging and complex

set of reforms. Ideally it would be simpler. There is a lot of work to

do on the detail and we will be working with the government.

Exactly how much bills will go up and for how long? Consumer groups

are worried. Ultimately, the policies in place are designed to

make sure that bills are more affordable in the longer term but

we have got to get there and it will probably mean a painful time

for lots of consumers. It is built of the transformation of the

electricity market, some think everybody agrees is owed and, but

what matters now is the small print of the new measures and that is not

settled -- everybody agrees is urgent.

The prospect of some convicted prisoners getting the right to vote

may have moved a step closer after a ruling at the European Court of

Human Rights in Strasbourg. In the past, David Cameron has said he

feels physically ill at the idea, but the government has been given

six months to respond to a test case that has come before the court.

Leaders from across Europe will meet in Brussels tomorrow to try to

agree measures for economic growth and to find a solution to the debt

crisis in Greece. Fresh elections will be held there next month. They

are being seen by many as a vote on whether to continue with austerity

measures imposed to tackle the deficit. Hugh Pym reports from

Athens on the challenge facing Greece.

Thousands of years of history and prestige, but where does Greece go

from here? You come to the future it is as uncertain as ever. There

is the sense of waiting for something to turn up but as for

what that something is, nobody is given to guests. Many people in the

UK and Europe will be asking a game, how did Greece get into this mess

and why are concerns about the Greek economy causing such

shockwaves across the world's financial markets? Greek government

debt soared so it had to be bailed out. It would have to pay a

crippling 30% interest rate if the ballot -- bail-out stopped now and

it had to go back to the markets. By comparison, UK costs are below

2%. The economy has been shrinking in a lengthy recession. By the end

of 2012, output will have fallen by more than 17% in five years. So why

is the economy stuck in reverse? I asked the head of the leading Greek

business organisation. People prefer to keep whatever Euros they

have in a safe and in their wallet and not spend it, and of course,

you know, business investment is about taking a calculated risk for

the future. It is not possible to calculate any risk at this time, so

investment is at a total standstill. Tax rises and spending cuts are not

helping growth. Without it and higher tax revenues, Greece will

struggle to reduce its borrowing. Its debt problem has become

Europe's debt problem because financial markets are so closely

interlinked, and leading European banks are still dealing with bad

debts caused by the downturn. There are fears that further losses in

Greece could damage confidence across the system. There are

warnings of severe consequences for European banks, including the UK's,

if there is the complete default. If Greece is not in they've

situation to continue with the bail-out package and instead it has

to officially go bankrupt, then the contagion is going to be very

significant. I do not see a way that this can be avoided.

Speculation about Greece's ability to repay its debt and membership of

the currency will intensify as elections approach. One tourist

then dip the selling points of the old currency. -- tourist Sella.

Right now it is a souvenir, but what for the future.

The first commercial flight carrying supplies to the

International Space Station has successfully blasted off from Cape

Canaveral in Florida. And launch of the Falcon 9! Falcon 9, an unmanned

privately owned rocket, is expected to dock at the space station on

Friday. The mission marks a new chapter in the history of space

flight. A BBC investigation has discovered

that a senior Olympic official from Ukraine was willing to sell

thousands of pounds of London 2012 tickets. The General Secretary of

Ukraine's National Committee told an undercover reporter posing as a

ticket tout that he could provide up to 100 tickets. Under a law

introduced for this summer's Games, it is illegal to sell tickets to

touts and tonight he has been suspended from his Olympic duties.

Adrian Warner reports. Very few tickets are left now for

the top events at the Olympics this summer so this is often the moment

when touts step into the market, but where do they get their tickets

from? It has been suspected him past Games that tickets allocated

to Olympic committees around the world have been sold on the black

market. In Britain, that is against the law. But a BBC investigation

indicates that it is likely to happen again. This is Volodymyr

Geraschchenko, general secretary of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee. An

undercover BBC reporter arranged a meeting with him in London to

discuss buying tickets. He explains that he was in the process of

distributing tickets to Ukrainian fans, coaches and officials but

indicated that he should have some Volodymyr Geraschchenko was willing

to discuss how any tickets would be 13 years ago, the International

Olympic Committee was hit by a major corruption scandal and vowed

to clean up the ranks, so this is particularly embarrassing because

it involves one of the big success stories of the Olympics.

Unprecedented ticket sales. Do you think it is pie in the sky

that you will stop ticket touts? Absolutely not and if I thought

that, we would not have increased We ask Volodymyr Geraschchenko

London 2012 and the International Olympic Committee say they will

investigate the allegations but with 1 million tickets allocated to

Olympic Committee's worldwide, any suggestion of them getting into the

wrong hands could be damaging for the Games.